Zachary Jack- Jack of all Trades
by WATERMELON-S33DS
Summary: short drabble for days five and six of the pzpth oc bomb! prompt: special/hidden talents and what they do in their free time. i warn you: expect lots of errors in it


"So... what is it you even _do_?" Penn slid into the seat across from his companion, the brunette barely looked up from his tinkering- his posture was so poor and he was so far bent over his work that Penn couldn't see what the boy's hands were doing. There was the occassional glint of silver, almost immediately revealed to be tinfoil that was skillfully folded and crumpled into the shape of a swan. Penn raised a brow at it, slightly impressed but still confused.

"I'm gonna need you to specify." His jaws opened wide, Penn shivering as he got full few of the shark-like rows of teeth while the taller of the two boys yawned. "Because..." Zachary rubbed his eyes. "I do alot of things."

"I mean hobbies. What kind of... recreational activites are you into?" Penn tried his best to do as asked. He knew Zachary wanted to answer with the usual story of him being a fantastic hero with questionable morals, but Penn wanted to know the _normal_ side of this guy's life.

"Uh..." Zachary opened his mouth to speak, hesitating and trailing off. "Everything, I guess." He shrugged, leaning back and planting his feet on the table-top, careful to not crush his creation. "Obviously I'm an artist..." he started off. "but I'm really into baking." He thought more. "Uh... writing... crafts, sparring, reading..." he started counting off the activities on his fingers. "Oh! I'm pretty big on carving and whittling- I just... like a bunch of stuff, I guess..." He grinned a toothy grin, stopping there as to not keep the redhead there all day.

Penn was a little surprised, more or less expecting a less-than-normal list. Something full of fantastic adventures and weird activites, that would at least explain why this guy had so many strange talents. The sparring bit did explain his advanced combat skills and his knowledge of weaponry, but that still left a gaping question about other things. Like his talents in parkour, why this guy was so good at breaking and entering. He was a pretty convincing actor as well... not to mention how easy it was for this guy to travel silently on foot- there'd been a million times where Penn had nearly died from a heart attack simply because the brunette accidentally snuck up on him. This guy was nearly 6 feet tall and looked so tired you'd imagine he'd drag his feet and stomp everywhere he went- but surprise, surprise. If he were to walk across creaky floor boards you'd barely get a response from the wooden planks.

There was also the question of magic- how did he learn it? How long had he been practicing it? What kind of magic could he do? Penn didn't notice he was staring, but Zachary did, and he grinned as he knew Penn was thinking about the mystery that sat in front of him.

"Any questions, darling?" He drawled, catching Penn off guard.

"Wh- oh! No! Well... one. Just one." Penn sputtered, not wanting to loose his chance to learn the answer to one of his greatest questions. "Magic. What's the deal with that? Where'd you learn it... what kind of stuff can you do? How l-"

"Whoa there, baby doll. You said _one_ question." Zachary laughed, cutting Penn off. "The answer is simple. I had a fit with a certain parent of mine and I effed off out of the house for a bit- met an old man who insisted I take some old books from him. I tried to object, but next thing I know I'm alone in an alleyway with an armful of magic books. I've just been studying and practicing ever since. All sorts of useful stuff, too. A bit of alchemy, rune writing, wizardry and witch-craft. Recently I started looking into potion making, as well." Penn leaned forward as he listened to the story, eyes barely shifting when Zachary began playing with his swan as he spoke. "I'm not sure how longs it's been- probably a long time. I kind of stopped counting the years."

Penn tightened his lips slightly. "Stopped counting the years? How does that work?"

Zachary sighed, chuckled lightly, then adjusted his seating so he was leaning forward, elbows on the table and hands folded together.

"I took a couple years to myself, just a bit of time away from society. It's easy to forget that way, especially with a body like mine." On the final words he stood, circling around behind Penn's chair, leaving the perplexed boy to strain his neck to keep eye contact. "Sometimes I do miss the way the birds sing when they think they're alone." With firm hands he grabbed the back of Penn's chair and pulled back, forcing the boy into a _very_ far back lean- Penn did panic for a second, but trusted that Zachary wouldn't let him fall. As the panic faded, he felt soft lips press to his forehead before he was returned back to a safe sitting position and was left alone at the table to think.


End file.
